Confetti: Poems for Children by Pat Mora and Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez

Mora, Pat. Confetti: Poems for Children. Ill. by Enrique O. Sanchez. New York: Lee & Low Books, Inc, 1996. ISBN: 0-613-19346-6

SUMMARY

The American Southwest awakens in Pat Mora’s poetry found in Confetti: Poems for Children. Discover the animals hidden away until Don Luis can release them as he carves into their wood homes.  Try to catch the wind as it spins and dances around you. Dance with the panadero as he magically turns flour and spices and fruits into delicious pan and empanadas. The vibrant Mexican culture and southwest scenery come together through the eyes of a young girl as she awakens and carries the reader through her day while she joyously discovers the freedom and beauty of the world around her.

ANALYSIS

Pat Mora’s gift of crafting words into explosions of sounds, colors, aromas, and textures comes to fruition in Confetti: Poems for Children. No sense is left untouched in this visually appealing and lyrically captivating collection of poems.

The theme of this book revolves around the rich Mexican culture that surrounds a young girl in the Southwest. Mora uses imagery, alliteration, and rhythm throughout the collection. Her opening poem, “Sun Song,” begins the young girl’s day. The golden sun awakens the sleeping world, and soon all begin to sing, “Sun song, sun song, sun song.” The following poems describe colors, a wood carvers’ gift to bring the animal from the piece of wood it sleeps within, the allusive and dancing wind that avoids capture, and many other topics.

The cultural markers found in this book can be seen in the illustrations, as well as in the words. Enrique O. Sanchez’s illustrations feature a young Hispanic girl with dark hair and dark eyes who delights in all the things she sees. In the poem, “Can I, Can I Catch the Wind,” the girl holds a straw hat, a jar made of pottery is in front of her, and to her side is a straw basket. The wind is depicted as a swirling white line that spins and dances before her outreached hand. The illustrations for “Cloud Dragons” shows the girl looking across a desert with a mountain in the distance and a cactus in the foreground. The sky takes up most of the picture, with clouds seen as dragons “…slithering by,” and “caballitos / that race the wind.”

Mora also touches the Tarahumaras’ culture in her poem, “I Hear, I Hear.” Sanchez’s illustrations in soft pinks, greens, blues and purples show the girl reading a book with images surrounding her that reveal snippets of the life of the Tarahumara Indians who lived in the northern region of Mexico. The poem beats a thoughtful, steady rhythm with the words: “I hear the rhythm of the Tarahumaras / pom, pom, / I hear them hoeing in the cornfields / pom, pom / I hear them patting tortillas / pom, pom…” The illustrations show the drum, a Tarahumaran hoeing a field, and other scenes from the poem.

Each poem speaks of an aspect of the Mexican culture that continues to thrive in Mexico and the Southwest regions of the United States.  In her poem, “Words Free as Confetti,” Mora writes, “…I’ll watch you, words, rise and dance and spin. / I’ll say, say, say you / in English, / in Spanish, / I’ll find you. / Hold you. / Toss you. / I’m free too./…”  True to this poem, Mora does use the words – in Spanish and in English – and she tosses them into rhythmic, delightful lines that fill the senses, while Sanchez’s illustrations in soft Southwestern colors complete the allusion to the contributions of the colorful, lively, and traditional Mexican culture.

AWARDS/REVIEWS

Arizona Governor’s Book Award, 2004

Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, 1997 – Nominee, Texas

Notable Books for a Global Society from the International Reading Association, 1996

“Mora’s poems reflect vividly the Mexican-American culture and life in the desert Southwest.” Mary Sarber, El Paso Herald Post

“The lively rhythms, interspersed with Spanish words, depict the treasures of a child’s life in the Southwest.” Review of Texas Books

“Narrative poems in free verse capture the rhythms and uniqueness of the Southwest and its culture as seen through the eyes of a Mexican-American girl.” School Library Journal

 CONNECTIONS

*Bilingual poetry books by Pat Mora:

Delicious Hullabaloos: Pachanga deliciosa

Book Fiesta! Celebrate Children’s Day / Book Day: Celebremos El día de los niños / El día de los libros

*Picture books by Pat Mora:

Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora

Lesson Plan link:

http://www.leeandlow.com/images/pdfs/confetti.pdf

PERSONAL RESPONSE

Simply put, I love to read poetry, and Pat Mora’s Confetti: Poems for Children captured me and held me from the beginning to end. I had to speak the poems, hear the rhythms and soft sounds blend. My favorite poem is “Mexican Magician.” The panadero in the poem is a man who loves his job – and Mora’s words and Sanchez’s illustrations matched perfectly. I also enjoyed the poem about the wind.  When spoken aloud, I could feel the rise and fall of the wind as it passes by. This is definitely a fun book to read aloud to children of all ages.

 Confetti: Poems for Children. Cover illustration. Internet on-line. September 28, 2013 from http://www.patmora.com/books/confetti-poems-for-children/

How Tia Lola Came to Visit Stay by Julia Alvarez

Alvarez, Julia. How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay. New York: Dell Yearling, 2001. ISBN: 0-329-28338-3

SUMMARY

Miguel’s life has changed drastically since his parents decided to divorce. He and his sister moved from New York City with their mother to a small town in rural Vermont, leaving his father and friends back in New York City. His Latino looks stand out in the Vermont community, which is something he is not use to. Then, his Tía Lola moves in with them from the Dominican Republic to help his mother as the family adjusts to their new life. Tía Lola is very different from anyone he has ever met, and he is not sure he likes having her stay with them. She does not speak English, she wears colorful and outrageous clothes, and her outgoing personality does not fit in with the image he wants to portray when he tries to make friends in his new home. With so many adjustments, Miguel begins to worry that his life will never be normal again.

ANALYSIS

Julia Alvarez brings the culture of the Dominican Republic to life through the lively and vivacious Tía Lola, a memorable character in her book How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay. Set in the backdrop of a quiet rural community in Vermont, Tía Lola’s vibrant personality contrasts with both the subtle setting and with her great-nephew's expectations of what an aunt should be.

Miguel and his mother and sister move to Vermont from New York City after his parents decide to divorce. In New York City, Miguel’s Latino heritage did not stand out because there were many Latinos where he lived. However, it does not take long for Miguel to realize things are different in his new home where “…his black hair and brown skin stand out. He feels so different from everybody…he hasn’t made one friend in three weeks.”  Miguel is not the only one in the family who is struggling to adjust to the new lifestyle. His mother finds the adjustment to single parenting difficult, and so asks her Tía Lola to come to Vermont to help her and the children.

The day Tia Lola arrives, Miguel immediately knows that things will be different from that point on when he sees her. “Her skin is the same soft brown color as theirs. Her black hair is piled up in a bun on her head with a pink hibiscus on top. She wears bright red lipstick and above her lips she has a big black beauty mark. On her colorful summer dress, parrots fly towards palm trees, and flowers look ready to burst from the fabric…” She has “…a voice impossible to resist,” and Miguel finds he is caught up in the magic of Tía Lola, even if he cannot understand her Spanish words.

Alvarez’s cultural markers encompass a variety of traditions found in the Dominican Republic. Tía Lola loves to dance the merengue, a traditional folk dance that originated in the Dominican Republic. She enjoys giving the children, and anyone else who desires to learn, dance lessons after dinner. Her meals are delicious and the children and guests enjoy eating foods like pastalitos, delicious little pastries. Miguel struggles between his need to fit into the Vermont community and his fascination and growing love for his colorful Tía whose love for people and life transcend the language barrier. Her philosophy, “You don’t have to speak the same language to have fun with other people,” wins the hearts of the people in the small Vermont community, and soon Miguel and his family become accepted members in the small rural town.

Julia Alvarez enlightens the reader about the Dominican Republic culture and its richness in tradition, which is personified in Tía Lola. One cannot help but be captivated by this beautiful person whose love for life, people, and tradition sings out from each page of the story.

AWARDS/REVIEWS

“Dominican Spanish words flavor the narrative like so many of Tia Lola’s spices.” Horn Book, Fall, 2001.

“This story seamlessly weaves two culturas while letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life.” Kirkus Reviews, January 2001.

“This book succeeds in teaching readers to be more understanding of the differences in others, and does so without preaching.” Library Talk, October 2001.

CONNECTIONS

The Tia Lola Stories by Julia Alvarez:

How Tia Lola Learned to Teach

How Tia Lola Saved the Summer

How Tia Lola Ended Up Starting Over

Share with your classroom the following video of the traditional merengue dance from the Dominican Republic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usN2-wYT2tE

PERSONAL RESPONSE

When I first saw this book and the cover, I thought about Mary Poppins. The cover’s illustration shows a woman wearing colorful clothing and carrying a flowery carpet bag as she gazes forward looking at a snowy gray-blue setting of an isolated farmhouse. The cover itself lets the reader know that this lady is going to make some changes in that little farmhouse. Sure enough, Tía Lola seems like the Dominican Republic’s version of the proper Mary Poppins who is able to change the life of two children so that things will never be quite the same again.

How Tia Lola Came to Visit Stay. Cover illustration. Internet on-line. September 28, 2013 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/julia-alvarez-2/how-taa-lola-came-to-visit-stay/

The Skirt by Gary Soto

Soto, Gary. The Skirt. Ill. By Eric Velasquez. New York: Delacorte Press, 1992. ISBN: 0-385-30665-2

SUMMARY

Miata always loses or forgets things: She has lost lunch money, homework, and once she even lost her shoes! This time, though, she has forgotten her mother’s precious and beautiful folklórico skirt on the school bus. To make matters worse, it happened on a Friday afternoon, and she must wear the skirt Sunday for a dance performance! Afraid and ashamed, instead of telling her mother and father, she turns to her friend, Ana, to come up with a way to get the skirt from the bus before Sunday’s performance. Will Ana and Miata be able to get the skirt without getting caught?

ANALYSIS

Gary Soto writes a story about a young girl’s adventure to retrieve her mother’s folklórico skirt before anyone realizes it is missing. The Skirt offers a simple plot and conflict, the events remain uncomplicated as his young protagonist, Miata Ramirez, talks her friend, Ana, into helping her get the skirt from a locked up school bus in the school’s bus yard.

Soto provides a background history about the Ramirez family in the story: Miata and her family moved from the hectic life of Los Angeles to Sanger, a small town in the San Joaquin Valley. Her father works hard as a mechanic, and his longing to move away from the city to a simpler life in the country, similar to the country life he had in Mexico, motivates him to convince his family to move. Miata was worried she would not be happy there, but soon makes good friends and begins to enjoy their new home.  As the family settles into their new lives, Miata joins a folklórico dance troupe and for months has practiced the dance.

Soto portrays the family’s Mexican cultural heritage using authentic descriptions and language throughout the story as cultural markers. Miata’s mother often uses Mexican phrases when she speaks to Miata. For example, when Miata arrives home from school that disastrous Friday afternoon when she forgot the skirt on the bus, her mother says, “İAye, Dios!...You scared me prieta.”  Soto includes other Spanish words and phrases throughout the book. Although Miata is not from Mexico, she is bilingual and will speak to other characters in the book in Spanish. For example, when she calls Ana’s house, she speaks to Ana’s grandmother in Spanish.

Miata’s father works hard to provide for his family, but when Soto describes the family vehicle, the reader understands Miata’s family does not have money for extras. The truck, “..was a ’68 Chevy with windows that rattled…Three red wires dangled from the broken radio.” This leads to helping the reader understand the importance of the skirt: Not only is it special because it belonged to Miata’s mother when she was a young girl, it is also important because it is the only skirt the family can provide to Miata for her to wear for the performance. Miata knows it would humiliate her family if she were to dance without the traditional costume, and this knowledge makes her more determined to get it from the bus.

In addition to the story, Eric Velasquez’s pencil drawings depict Miata as a young girl with dark, thick, straight hair and Mexican facial features. An illustration of the family while they are eating dinner shows a picture over the table with a theme that suggests Aztec artwork. The final illustration reveals Miata at Sunday’s performance dancing in her folklórico dress, with her proud family in the background smiling and calling to her.

Soto concludes the story with a pleasant ending that includes a nice surprise for Miata. The story appeals to a younger reader, perhaps third and fourth grade level, because of its simple plot and conflict. In addition to this, Soto provides an entrance into the warm world of a young Mexican-American family whose close-knit relationships and respect for each other can be felt throughout the story.

AWARDS/REVIEWS

“Soto shows a mainstream audience that the lives of middle-class Hispanics resemble their own.” Kirkus Reviews,  October 1992

“This is light, easy reading, the dialogue natural and the Mexican-American cultural setting unaffected. Miata’s family and friends are typical without becoming stereotypical, offering readers a cast and situation with which to identify, whatever their own ethnic origins.” Betsy Hearne, The Bulletin of the Center for Childrens Books, October 1992

CONNECTIONS

Too Many Tamales, Gary Soto

Baseball in April, Gary Soto

I Love Saturdays y domingos, by Alma Flor Ada

In the classroom:

Have students research the history of the folklórico dance. Show them a video of the dance seen in the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihnm0vfn3uU

PERSONAL RESPONSE

I have not read a lower reading level chapter book in quite some time, so was at first surprised at the simplicity of the plot of this book. However, I enjoyed reading about the Ramirez family. The father is my favorite character in the book. He works hard, his family respects him, and he respects them as well. He is happy with the good things in his life – and I think that is why I admired him the most of all the book’s characters.

The Skirt. Cover illustration. Internet on-line. September 28, 2013 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gary-soto/the-skirt/